Rootstock Increases Hashrate Share to 81% of the Bitcoin Blockchain’s Total: Messari

Decentralized finance (DeFi) on the Bitcoin blockchain may still be in its infancy compared to Ethereum, but Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) is becoming safer and more cost-effective, as noted by crypto analytics firm Messari in a recent report. A key player is Rootstock, one of the oldest Bitcoin layer-2 projects, which Messari highlighted in its “State of Rootstock” report.

Rootstock is now secured by 81% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate, meaning that miners contributing to this hashrate are also validating transactions on the layer 2. This figure was just 56% before the onboarding of Foundry and Spiderpool, the world’s largest and sixth-largest mining pools, respectively, in February.

Additionally, Messari observed that transaction fees on Rootstock are 95% lower than the average Bitcoin transaction and 55% lower than those on Ethereum. Rootstock is among various initiatives aiming to enhance Bitcoin’s utility by expanding DeFi options through smart contracts, enabled by “BitVMX,” a modified version of the BitVM programming language. Other notable Bitcoin layer-2 projects include Stacks and BOB (“Build on Bitcoin”).

The project has also partnered with the bridging protocol LayerZero to allow Rootstock-native applications to connect with multiple other blockchains, including Ethereum and Solana. This momentum paves the way for increasing adoption of BTCFi through the remainder of 2025, according to Messari.

“As BTCFi continues to grow, Rootstock is strategically positioned for broader adoption through key upgrades like a 60% reduction in transaction fees, coupled with ongoing investment in education and incentive programs for developers,” said Messari analyst Andrew Yang.